Mary Godleski/For The Star-LedgerA passenger walks into Atlantic City Airport in this 2006 file photo.

EGG HARBOR — Legislation that paved the way for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s takeover of Stewart Airport in upstate New York, well outside the official port district, also allows the agency to acquire an airport outside the district in New Jersey.

Today officials of the bi-state agency said they were studying the possibility of taking over Atlantic City International Airport, a move that state Senate President Steve Sweeney said would fit perfectly into New Jersey’s efforts to revitalize the struggling seaside gambling resort.

"My feelings, honestly, are I want to be able to use the expertise and the financial resources of the Port Authority to help Atlantic City Airport," said Sweeney, a Democrat whose South Jersey legislative district includes parts of Salem, Gloucester and Cumberland counties.

In 2007, both states passed a law allowing the Port Authority to operate facilities outside the official port district, an area of just under 2,000 square miles within a 25-mile radius of the Statue of Liberty. That November, the Port Authority took control of Stewart Airport, located 55 miles north of New York City, in Newburgh, N.Y., by assuming $78.5 million in remaining lease payments on the airport property.

Atlantic City International, located in Egg Harbor Township, is more than 100 miles south of the statue. It’s run by the South Jersey Transportation Authority, a relatively small agency whose other main asset is the Atlantic City Expressway.

Sweeney said the price or terms of a takeover — whether a lease or a sale — have not been envisioned, though he said proceeds of a sale would be divided among the airport’s surrounding counties.

Since taking control of Stewart Airport, the Port Authority has spent more than $50 million on upgrades. Sweeney said that kind of investment in Atlantic City’s airport would attract new carriers and new routes that would enhance access to the resort for extended-stay visitors, a group that analysts say the resort needs to attract in order to remain viable.

"If we had more large carriers flying out of Atlantic City airport, you’d have more people going to Atlantic City," Sweeney said.

Spirit Airlines is currently the primary carrier at the airport, and AirTran operates a shuttle service there.

After a meeting at the Port Authority’s Manhattan headquarters today, agency chairman David Samson told reporters that the agency has explored a takeover of Atlantic City International since the 2007 law was passed. The agency now controls five airports, including Stewart, Teterboro, Newark Liberty, Kennedy and LaGuardia.

"I think the benefits would be obvious," Samson said. "It is something that obviously will continue to be looked at by the Port Authority staff."

But Samson cautioned there are no plans in place right now, and he noted Gov. Chris Christie would have to be on board.

Sweeney said he was assured by Christie that he would consider a Port Authority takeover of the airport when the two leaders hammered out legislation intended to revive the city’s fortunes through a new casino reinvestment district.

Christie took control of the tourism district in Atlantic City in October, relaxing regulations for the 11 casinos and redirecting gaming fees to help clean up and promote the area. Atlantic City remains the second-largest U.S. casino market, after Las Vegas, but revenues were down 30 percent last year from 2006, as new casinos and slot machines at horse tracks in neighboring states siphoned away gamblers.

A Christie spokesman, Michael Drewniak, declined to say whether the governor supported an airport takeover. "I think that’s a premature discussion at this time," Drewniak said. "No such plans have been announced."